Ducks Rookie Tournament Preview

By Thomas Harrington

This weekend, the Anaheim Ducks, along with the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, will participate in the 2025 Golden State Rookie Faceoff. Each team will play two games in the tournament. The Ducks will face San Jose on Friday and Los Angeles on Sunday. This tournament is different from previous years; instead of several teams competing and everyone playing in three games, this will be a much smaller tournament.

The Ducks will bring a total of 23 players to the tournament: 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and three goaltenders. In years past, Anaheim would usually bring a roster closer to 30 players, but with only two games to play, it makes sense to bring fewer players. The Ducks will have one player from the 2019 draft, one player from the 2020 draft, one player from the 2022 draft, four players from the 2023 draft, six players from the 2024 draft, four players from the 2025 draft, three free agents, and three camp invites making up the roster.

Will Francis is the lone representative from the 2019 draft class, and Ian Moore is the lone representative from the 2020 draft class. Both players are on the older side, but both also just finished their college careers and were unable to participate in this tournament in prior years. Francis is technically no longer part of the Anaheim organization after his rights expired over the summer, but he did sign an AHL-only deal with the San Diego Gulls and will play for them this year. Given what he’s gone through over the last several years, that’s a truly amazing accomplishment. This will be Moore’s first professional season, after having made his NHL and AHL debuts at the end of last season. He is one of two players that Anaheim is bringing to this tournament with NHL experience. I expect Francis to play in both games, while I could see Moore playing in only one if Anaheim wants to try to avoid injury for him before the season.

The Ducks will have no players participate from their 2021 draft class, as they have already graduated to the NHL like Mason McTavish and Olen Zellweger, are still in the AHL but have too much professional experience for a rookie tournament like Sasha Pastujov and Tyson Hinds, are no longer with the organization like Josh Lopina, Sean Tschigerl, and Gage Alexander, or are playing NCAA hockey like Kyle Kukkonen. When Kukkoken finishes his college career, expect to see him at a future tournament.

Goaltender Vyacheslav Buteyets is the only representative from Anaheim’s 2022 draft class. Pavel Mintyukov, Nathan Gaucher, Noah Warren, Tristan Luneau, Ben King, Connor Hvidston, and Michael Callow are the players from 2022 who will not participate in this tournament. Mintyukov has already graduated to the NHL, while Gaucher, Warren, and Luneau are AHL veterans at this point. Luneau only has one professional season under his belt, so I’m a little surprised he didn’t attend, but hopefully he can focus fully on training camp and getting ready for the season. King and Hvidston are no longer with the organization, and Callow is still playing NCAA hockey. Buteyets played primarily in the ECHL this past season and I expect him to start at least one of the two games.

Forwards Nico Myatovic, Coulson Pitre, and Yegor Sidorov and defenseman Konnor Smith represent Anaheim’s 2023 draft class. Leo Carlsson, Carey Terrance, Damian Clara, Rodwin Dionicio, and Vojtech Port are the picks from 2023 who will not be present. Carlsson has graduated to the NHL, Clara is playing overseas, and Terrance, Dionicio, and Port are no longer with the organization. I expect all four of Myatovic, Pitre, Sidorov, and Konnor Smith to play in both games.

Forwards Maxim Masse, Ethan Procyszyn, and Becket Sennecke and defensemen Tarin Smith, Stian Solberg, and Darels Uljanskis represent the Ducks’ 2024 draft class. Lucas Pettersson, Alexandre Blais, and Austin Burnevik will not be attending. Pettersson is playing overseas while both Blais and Burnevik will be in the NCAA this season. Blais actually attended the tournament last year when he was playing in the QMJHL, but he was one of several CHL players to transfer to the NCAA over the summer. I would expect all of Masse, Procyszyn, Tarin Smith, and Uljanskis to play in both games. The wildcards in this group are Sennecke and Solberg. Sennecke was supposed to play in last year’s tournament but was injured before it even began. If the Ducks want to play him in the NHL to start the season, they may not want to play him as much in this tournament to help avoid injury. However, they may instead want him to play both games and dominate in them to help get him ready for the season. Solberg will likely spend the year in the AHL but have an outside shot at the NHL. If the Ducks feel he’s proven enough in the first game, he could miss the second one.

Forwards Emile Guite, Noah Read, and Brady Turko and defenseman Alexis Mathieu will represent Anaheim’s most recent draft class. Roger McQueen, Eric Nilson, Lasse Boelius, Drew Schock, Elijah Neuenschwander, and Anthony Allain-Samake will not be attending. McQueen, Nilson, Schock, and Allain-Samake will all be in the NCAA this season. McQueen is another player who switched from the CHL to the NCAA and would have attended if that hadn’t happened. Boelius and Neuenschwander will be playing overseas this season. I would expect all of Guite, Read, Turko, and Mathieu to play both games of the tournament.

Forward Tim Washe and Jaxsen Wiebe and goaltender Tomas Suchanek are the three free agent signings participating in the tournament. Washe is the other player with NHL experience that Anaheim is bringing to the tournament. Similar to Sennecke, the Ducks may choose to play him in only one game if they don’t want to risk injury before the NHL season. However, given that he only has two professional games on his resume, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in both. I would expect Wiebe to play in both games, and for Suchanek to start one of the games. Since Suchanek missed all of last season with an injury, the Ducks may want to ease him back into things by giving him half a game. But if he’s feeling well, he could play the entire time.

The camp invites are forwards Ryan Lautenbach and Owen Lindmark and goaltender Michael McIvor. Lautenbach has played at UMass in the NCAA for the past four seasons and joined the Gulls on an ATO to end last season. Lindmark spent the last several years playing at the University of Wisconsin in the NCAA. He also signed an ATO with San Diego at the end of last season. Each should play at least one game. If the Ducks decide to give Sennecke and Washe only one game each, then Lautenbach and Lindmark should play in both games. This will be McIvor’s second time playing for Anaheim at the rookie tournament. He played for the North Bay Battalion of the OHL this past season and is Procyszyn’s teammate. I don’t think McIvor will start either game, but I could see him splitting time with either Suchanek or Buteyets, depending on how much Anaheim wants to play the two goaltending prospects.

Los Angeles and San Jose will also be bringing some of their high-level prospects to the tournament. Some of the top prospects the Kings will be bringing include forward Liam Greentree, defenseman Henry Brzustewics, and goaltender Carter George. Some of the top prospects the Sharks will be bringing include forwards Michael Misa and Quentin Musty and defenseman Sam Dickinson.

Rookie tournaments are generally a lot of fun. Hopefully Anaheim’s prospects play well, but more importantly, hopefully no one on any of these three teams suffers any kind of injury. This tournament is designed to give each team a glimpse of their future, but it’s also to give these kids an idea of what it will take to make it in the NHL. This year’s tournament will be played at Great Park Ice and FivePoint Arena.

The Ducks are holding a rookie camp practice tomorrow September 11th at Great Park Ice at 10:30 a.m. on Rink 4.

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September 10th, 2025